


A Tournament of the Heart

by viraseii



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bruises, Complete, Custody Battle, Dave Swearing, Dirty Talk, Dissection, Dorks, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Frogs, Humanstuck, Ice Cream, Injury, Karkat Swearing, Kissing, M/M, Minor Injuries, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Post-Divorce, References to Shakespeare, Sparring, Swearing, i guess, lol, lol these are actual tags??, romcoms, taekwondo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 16:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7648018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viraseii/pseuds/viraseii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a bunch of teenagers in love with each other, basically, plus some taekwondo thrown in so aye</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tadahiis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tadahiis/gifts).



> Dedicated to Liz, my lovely pretty yummy tummy funny lucky girlfriend/genderfluid-friend/boyfriend/idk i just love you <3

I was thirteen when Porrim decided Kanaya and I could benefit from learning some self-defense. Kanaya was all for learning fucking karate, or jujitsu, or _whatever_ the _fuck_. To my relief, Kankri argued we both be in taekwondo. Taekwondo isn't so bad. The art itself, I realize, is nothing to fear. I'm not particularly strong or imposing, but you don't exactly need to be in Taekwondo. At least, that's what I thought as a white belt. Kanaya pointed out, however, that learning any martial arts meant starting out easy. And, hell, does it get harder once you reach the higher belts.

I'm also one of the few teens in the classes. There are maybe sixteen of us in the entire program, total. I've been pretty closed off and don't talk to them much aside from Kanaya.

I sigh as Kankri drives us to the school. He's actually quiet for once, but only because NPR is playing from the speakers. I've been stuck as a red belt for months, although Kanaya's already passed to brown. I plan to clear the test before my birthday, though. Which is in three weeks. I'm not looking forward to it. Kankri and Porrim make it into a huge fuss all the damn time, and I'd really rather just spend the day with some friends.

They're not actually together, but they're best friends, and so me and Kanaya have grown up so close we're basically a family in every way but name.

The building is big and can hold probably a couple hundred people, although most of the classes only have a maximum of thirty people at a time. It's run by Master Dirk Strider, a middle-aged man who comes off as cold even on the best of days and generally isn't liked very much. It's the students themselves who make up the warm aspect of the training atmosphere - most of them are between ages 7 and 11 and they're _wild_.

I hate them all.

I tighten my belt before bowing and entering. There's a tournament this weekend and belt tests on the weekend after. Tournaments aggravate me. I try my best, but there's always some fucker who does a little better. And our teacher isn't the positive-reinforcement type of person. I scowl as I move to stand in an empty spot in our usual staggered rows, crossing my arms so I'm as unapproachable as possible to the tiny children running around.

Of course, my demeanor does nothing to deter Terezi, my fellow red belt. She leaps on me from behind, as if she's terribly stealthy and expects to surprise me despite the fact that I can _see_ her in the mirrors, plain as day.

"Morning, Karkat," she drawls in my ear.

I glare at her. "It's two fucking thirty in the afternoon," I point out. She makes a wide-eyed face and presses a finger to her lips.

"Shh, think of the children, Karkat!" she gasps, as if scandalized. I scoff. Terezi and I used to date. We're still friends, but... well, we have history.

"Karkat doesn't possess the mental capacity to figure out how to use a verbal filter," Vriska says, strutting over. She's the only blue belt in the red to poom class, because she started later but she's _vicious._ she's only allowed to spar with certain people. Also, she's dating Terezi, so me and her hate each other. It's pretty much standard protocol in our situation.

"Shove off," I say pointedly, despite itching to shoot her the bird and tell her to take her bullshit and stick it where the sun don't fucking shine.

Dirk exits from his office and heads to the front of the class, and Terezi and Vriska both detach themselves from my vicinity and spread themselves out.

Actually, I don't care about Dirk so much. He has a son though. And, well, a daughter - he has twins, but I'm not too interested in her. Besides, she already hits it off well with John Fuckbert, who somehow is a poom belt despite his scrawny looks. I'm not sure if I'd classify it as romantic attachment, but they are definitely pretty close.

Dave never seems to interact with anyone outside Jade, John, and his own sister. He puzzles me. He's a second degree black belt, one above his sister Rose, and he leads class with her fairly often. Dirk doesn't seem to do much of anything other than supervise. But Dave... fascinates me, in a way. Every stance he holds, every kick, every strike, is always nearly flawless. Actually, I'd call it flawless, except he's the one person Dirk is always nagging at. I feel a little sorry for him at times.

Near the end of class, as I press my fingers to my aching quadriceps, Rose sets up partners for sparring. Vriska spars with Rose, Kanaya with Terezi, and John with Dave for the first round. For round two, Dave points to me.

"I'm going against you," he states in his monotone.

I flush a little at being singled out, but rise, mumbling, "Yes, sir." I move to stand in front of him. Kanaya and the others are all taking a break, which means the only interesting matches are Terezi against Jade and Dave against me. Dave never takes breaks from sparring for reasons I'll never come to find out. But Kanaya will likely be watching me, which makes my palms sweat.

"Attention and bow," Dirk calls from the front. I bend at the torso. Dave is taller than me. I've only sparred against him once or twice, but he moves faster than a viper and hits harder than the first time you realize Santa isn't fucking real. It fills a guy with apprehension. "Guarding stance!"

He doesn't yell as he shifts his feet until Dirk calls his name. "Dave! I want to hear yelling." I try to copy his movements, the exact bend of his knees, the position of his arms. His guard is perfect. There's no clear shot at his chest. "Go!" Neither of us move for a moment. Then his leg snaps out in a roundhouse, and I'm forced to back kick so he can't score. He follows with a hook kick and his foot collides with my chest.

I glare at him and try harder, aiming for his head, except I have short legs and his head is way up there. He can reach mine easily, because not only is he tall but his legs are long in proportion. Which is just unfair. They're some nice legs, though.

I stamp down the thought.

He scores point after point on me, which is frankly rather humiliating. Very humiliating. Tears prick at my eyes for a couple seconds before I remind myself that I'm sparring with the best student in the school, and really, it's only to be expected. Dirk starts counting down from 10, and somewhere around the number four, Dave's kick finds its way under the bottom of my chest guard, toward the right side. I lose my balance and fall, my body instinctually curling in around the injury. He stops immediately and offers me a hand.

I glare at it as Dirk reaches zero. "Dave, what are you doing? Don't stop before time is called."

Dave turns and points to me. "Karkat's hurt."

"I'm fine," I growl, rising and stretching out my side. Dave flinches a little as Dirk narrows his eyes at him, before calling for attention and bow.

"Shake hands," he says, and Dave grabs my hand through our arm guards, stepping forward much too close.

"I'm sorry about that," he says quietly, barely understandable through the mouth guard. I refuse to glance up at him, but I can feel his breaths against my forehead.

"Hm," I reply, pulling my hand away because he's been shaking it for way too long before moving back to the side to rest. I feel his eyes on me for a little longer until he has to turn and bow to Vriska.

I watch Dave for the rest of the class. Which isn't unusual, but this time I have different thoughts on my mind. On the drive home, I decide he's attractive. _Really_ attractive, actually.

"Thinking about someone special?" Porrim asks, glancing at me. My face burns, and I realize I must have been blushing.

"No," I say defensively, glancing at Kanaya. She wiggles her eyebrows once at me, and I add, "fuck off."

"Language," Porrim chides.


	2. Chapter 2

Dave spars with me again next class. At the end, before I can leave, he grabs my arm. I turn my head to face him, his golden white hair pushed away from his brow, the ends stuck together with sweat.

"Need something?" I say awkwardly. He reaches toward the counter and grabs a pen, pulling up my sleeve. The sensation sends shivers down my spine, and I tense up as he writes his number across my forearm.

"Text me, yeah?" he says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Um, okay? You know you could have typed it into my phone."

Dave smirks a little at that, and for some reason it sends my heart into panicky flutters. I've never seen him smile. "Nah, this way you're gonna have to look at it for another few days and everyone who sees will ask about it."

My mouth actually parts in surprise. Then Dave runs back to start the next class before Dirk can yell at him, and I turn to the door, blushing furiously. Porrim winks at me, and I swear I heat up from my neck to my hairline.

I get home and wait until after dinner to text him, sometime around 8:30.

UM. HI?

He texts back almost immediately, and my insides squirm a little at the quick response.

oh man hey you actually texted   
SORRY. ILL LEAVE, SINCE APPARENTLY IM NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.   
haha what   
nah where are you going   
just wanted to get in touch is all   
youre gonna compete this weekend right   
OBVIOUSLY?   
cool what did you sign up for   
FORMS AND SPARRING. COULDNT YOU JUST CHECK? BEING THE SON OF MASTER DIRK AND FUCKALL?   
lmao really seeing the respect   
courtesy bro   
one of the five whatevers   
WHAT?   
youre supposed to know them and follow them   
courtesy integrity perseverance self control indomitable spirit   
he never fucking goes over them though so rose and i have to make sure all of you know them

I'm a little disappointed that the only reason he'd texted me was to make sure I knew my vocabulary list, but then he keeps going.

anyway if youre going to be participating in sparring   
maybe we could practice outside of class   
i could help you   
also forms   
i mean ive been watching you for a long time now   
i mean not watching but like ive been paying attention   
to you   
or not you   
like you know because i basically teach the class   
so obviously I have to fucking watch people and correct them karkat geez   
and youre pretty good but you've failed the brown belt test like three times now even though you only took it twice because the second time you got sick   
hope you were ok btw   
i mean ofc you were because that was like two months ago   
ARE YOU OK?   
yeah im feeling really great talking to you finally   
i mean   
yeah its good to have you   
cause like   
talking   
um   
but like   
if you wanna pass and get your brown belt you've gotta be better   
and you're super close but i think if i helped you you could pass next month   
you always look so crushed whenever you take the test and dont pass   
its really like   
nvm   
but hey   
so   
yeah   
ARE YOU DONE WITH YOUR CEASELESS TIRADE OF RAMBLING RED TEXT?   
yes   
YOU NEVER TALK THIS MUCH IN CLASS. WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?   
I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST ANTISOCIAL BUT HERE YOU ARE, NEVER SHUTTING THE FUCK UP.   
i mean thats cause i fucking hate taekwondo   
WHAT THE FUCK? THEN WHY DO YOU DO IT.   
YOURE THE BEST STUDENT AND YOU HATE IT??   
yeah is there an issue here   
YES.   
THE ISSUE IS, WHY ARE YOU DOING SOMETHING YOU HATE?   
PEOPLE FUCKING LOOK UP TO YOU AND YOURE SAYING YOU *HATE* IT?    
WHAT KIND OF A FUCKING ROLE MODEL...   
if you care so much   
there are other things you could do to make me feel better besides yelling at me   
if you catch my drift   
EUGH!   
WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK?   
hahaha

I press my hand to my cheek, which feels as if I'm running a fever of 236.

im just joking with you man   
seriously though lets hang out   
friday?   
FRIDAY IS SPARRING CLASS.   
oh come on we spar every class   
who cares if we miss actual sparring class   
WONT DIRK CARE?   
fuck him   
WOW.   
UH, YOU CAN COME OVER I GUESS.   
cool alright   
ill see you at school then   
WE GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL??   
wow ouch

He blinks offline, and I feel a little guilty. I also feel like I would have noticed if someone like Dave Strider were at my school. But, well, it is a big school, so he can't exactly be mad at me for not noticing one person. After all, we're pretty much strangers to each other. What significance do I have to Dave Strider? None.


	3. Chapter 3

i finally asked him to hang out  
I'm glad to see you finally taking action, Dave, after pining after him for three years.  
hey i dont pine  
rose what if hes straight  
Karkat is bisexual.  
ik ik hes dated ampora and captor before  
why though i dont know  
theyre both dumb  
Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds upon.  
stfu  
You and Sollux were good friends, I had presumed.  
yeah were bros but i still think hes dumb if karkat dated him  
also sexualities change you know  
the last person he dated was terezi  
hey i used to be hella straight too i might point out  
rose he didnt even know i go to the same school as him :(  
Wow. The typographical semblance of a facial expression. We're getting serious now.  
rooooose  
I'm not your love counselor, Dave. He agreed to hang out didn't he? What more do you expect? You've only avoided him and stalked him from afar for the past three years.  
If you run from any situation in which you might encounter him, how do you expect him to know you share a school?  
if you say rome wasnt built in a day again im going to shove your own keyboard up your ass  
I'm on mobile.  
the phone will do then  
hows mom  
Drunk.  
oh  
is she still hitting up egbert  
If you mean whether they are still together, then yes. They are.  
doesnt that suck for you then  
you cant like date your own step-brother  
can you??  
I've had someone else on my mind for some time now.  
what who  
you didnt tell me  
Good night, Dave. It's 11:30.  
rose no  
ok fine forget that but how long until i can finally come live with you

I sigh as she switches offline before flopping back on my bed. My muscles ache familiarly from fatigue, my stomach gnawing with hunger. Karkat's on my mind. Rose isn't wrong; I have technically made every effort to conceal my affection for him, and as a result, myself, over the last few years. And it is a large school. But it still kind of stings to know that Karkat has no idea of my existence.

I run through his words from earlier today. He was always so shouty. And he hadn't disappointed. I'd been expecting to _slowly_ receive more and more of the typical aggressive compassion I'd seen from him time and time again, and he'd given it to me within the first conversation. _PEOPLE LOOK UP TO YOU._ Does he look up to me?

He seems comfortable to be himself with me, even share his angrily caring attitude with me, at least. I call that progress. I let myself drift to sleep, thinking up more excuses as to why I hadn't done my homework. _"Sorry. I was busy being really gay."_

-

Karkat comes up and says hi in English. There are about 50 students in my English class, and it's one of the three classes I share with him. He's wearing a half sleeve, and I can see the arm with my number on it is flushed and the ink a little faded from scrubbing. "I didn't know you went here at all," he says, taking a seat on my desk. I peer up at him and his ridiculously attractive face.

"Tsk tsk. I can't believe you missed the most important thing in the universe," I grin, leaning back in my chair to better admire the view. "I can see you worked your ass off trying to wash your arm. You could have just worn full sleeve..?" I laugh, placing my hands behind my head casually.

Karkat mutters something darkly about laundry before saying, "you absolutely confound me."

I grin. "Oh, trust me, I have every capability to just blow your mind." Then I flush as he freezes and stares at me. Did I say that out loud? "Whatever you're thinking to make you look at me like that, it's probably not what I meant," I try to amend, and his cheeks color. It probably is exactly what I meant, but I don't have to let him know that.

"Later, dipshit," he growls, hopping off my desk and heading back to his own next to Sollux, who shoots me a bravo sign. I flip him off. I'm a little annoyed that he didn't bother to tell me that his other best friend didn't even know I existed, despite being perfectly aware of my infatuation. But hey, Sollux and I are both assholes. It's how we get along.

Karkat leans slightly to his right while taking a seat. I narrow my eyes and watch as he sits all the way down before rubbing the side of his stomach a little.

He's hurt.

I'd kind of noticed it during class yesterday, but I hadn't thought it would go on until today. Everyone goes home from sparring bruised a bit here and there, but they're usually easily tolerable. I run through who he'd sparred with yesterday, except after warmups we had sparred all class and he had sparred with most everyone. So really, it could have even anyone's kick.

I chew on the back of my pencil for the rest of class, barely paying attention to the play we're reading.

-

He said 'later, dipshit' to me," I say proudly at lunch.

"Wow," Rose says drily. "Progress."

"I mean," I pause to reach over and grab John's apple. "It was after I accidentally implied I would give him a blowjob, so, yeah, I'd call it progress."

Rose sets down her salad and leans back on her hands, giving me a judgmental look. The sun is high and bright in the sky, casting a deep shadow over our usual spot. We're sitting in the corner of campus as far from the school anyone can get without slipping into drug deal territory, on the grass under a giant oak tree.

"Why are you so bad at this?" John says bluntly, frowning at me. I flip him off.

"You need help," Rose states in a flat voice.

"I would totally give him a blow job though."

"Dave," Jade says earnestly. "It's great that you're finally being more open about all this because communication is nice and we'll help you. But some thoughts should probably be left unvoiced."

"Yeah man, I'm eating lunch and I don't need weird images in my head," John mutters, biting into his sandwich.

I shrug and lay back on the ground. "You agreed to this when you decided to talk to me in the first place. We've all accepted that anything that comes out of my mouth is full unrestrained free thought, brandishing its own personal little declaration of independance from the power of my brain to mouth filter. Every letter pronounced fights hard for freedom and waves its tiny gay-ass flag of defiance. I could definitely go more into my wild fantasies if you really want-"

Jade picks up an orange slice and shoves it into my mouth, causing me to choke and sit up. Once I cough away the orange juice running down my bronchial tubes, I glance up at her and mutter, "that's fair." Rose smirks and lowers her phone from my face, and I can hear the tiny noises of my own coughing coming from the speakers. Her eyes gleam as they meet mine, her thumb hovering over the send button in snapchat.

I launch myself at her.


	4. Chapter 4

Sollux is an asshole.

He's honestly such an asshole. Yeah, it's how we get along, but he's too big of one for his own good. He rounds me and Karkat up to make a chemistry group for our end of the year project. Which isn't even so _bad_ , except he makes a point to make sure I know that if he really wanted to he could probably get back together with Karkat. He spends all class casually draping his arm around Karkat's shoulders, leaning in close to Karkat's face to mumble something to him, and flashing Karkat looks I don't quite understand. If he weren't smitten with one certain Aradia Megido currently, I'd have probably shoved the frog dissection down his fucking throat.

Karkat seems to be fully aware of what Sollux is doing, and keeps shoving him off angrily without losing steam, but I break about twenty minutes from the end of class when Sollux squeezes Karkat's shoulder, who blushes in return. _Not_ on my watch.

I mean, if they were actually going to get back together I wouldn't have done anything, but the entire reason Sollux is doing this is to poke at me and see my reaction, so I figure it's ok if I nuke his entire bloodline or something. Karkat shoves him off and rants about having to do a dissection in chemistry class for the sixth time, quietly and under his breath this time.

I slam the scissors tip first into the wax board and turn around to glare at Sollux. "Do you have a problem?" I demand.

He snickers. "Why? Am I creating one for you?" He raises his eyebrows at me, and, _wow_ , what a _dick_.

"You _know_ I-" I falter, gritting my teeth. Karkat watches us both with one raised eyebrow from his chair.

Sollux cups his ear. "I can't seem to recall what you're alluding to. Mind being more specific?"

I glare at him. "I'm going to whoop your bipolar ass," I grind out, before shoving his thin frame backwards. He collides with Aradia in the group working behind us, catches himself on the table, sees her face, and loses balance, ending up on the floor. Karkat snorts as I smirk at Sollux, who's fumbling to get to his feet and attempting to stutter out the semi-coherant semblance of a flustered apology. She seems amused.

I turn back to Karkat and lean over him, annoyance at Sollux melting into a fluttery, pounding heart, as I place both hands on either side of the chair Karkat's sitting on. He turns around and his eyes snap up to my face, widening a little. They flick down to my lips and linger there. His eyelashes are long, dragging against the safety glasses and brushing over his cheeks. His skin there is smooth and clear and dusted lightly with pink, a tiny tiny sprinkling of freckles spreading across the top of his cheekbones.

I let my head drift closer to his, my self control cracking a little. My breaths come out hot and shaky. He remains frozen in place, watching my mouth coming closer and closer.

That's what makes me stop. He's not pushing me away, but he's sure as hell not going along with it either. So I turn my head to the side while still several inches away from his face, staring at the floor on my right. The safety glasses would probably have gotten in the way anyway.

Karkat exhales slowly through his nose, raising up both hands in between us and coincidentally bringing a scalpel to hover dangerously close to my neck. "Let's finish this damn frog so we don't need to fucking cut anything up next class."

My eyes trace the outline of the scalpel for a few more seconds before I straighten, silently pulling it from Karkat's hand and turning around. He doesn't say anything. Sollux comes back ten minutes later, leaning on the counter to my left and watching as I frustratedly finish the frog.

"I can't believe you had the best opportunity just now, and you closed and locked your own door," he mutters under his breath.

I shrug. "Until it knocks again I will sit here humbly with my frog, cursing the ashes of my former friend Sollux Captor, forever jubilantly reliving the memory of the day I fed his entrails to the fiery infernos of hell." Sollux smirks at me.

I would have gone on with my convoluted mixed metaphor, except Karkat stands and shoves himself between us. "It's time to fucking clean up, so shut up with your dumb-fuck theatrics and put the fucking frog away somewhere."

Sollux gives him a mock bow. "As you wish, my liege," he says reverently.

Karkat pushes him back as Sollux snickers. "I _told_ you. Not interested." His face is troubled, and as he bundles up the dissection instruments and heads to the sink, I scrutinize his gait. It's been two days, but he still seems to be favoring his right side.

I furrow my brows in concern and puzzlement as I turn around to pluck the pins from the wax board.

-

Access Tutorial comes with a surprising lack of conversation. Most people are stressed and studying for upcoming essays. There really isn't much to study with essays, I've found. I can usually come up with a good argument and defend it decently. They're not that hard, but I guess it's not the same for everyone else.

Karkat and Sollux are chatting in the corner. Sollux's gaze flicks over to me a couple times, but Karkat doesn't seem to notice. I don't have anything to work on. Access tutorial is largely pointless, honestly. We don't get homework, at all, what with a total of ten classes, so it's just for people to chill out. I usually miss AT and go straight to Dirk's taekwondo place, but not today. Rose is already ready to tell Dirk I've been kept after school hours by a teacher.

Sollux sends me another meaningful glance, and I finally decide to work up my nerves and approach them. I haven't been looking forward to the rest of today after what happened in chemistry.

"Yo," I say, dropping into a chair near them.

"Sup, nerd," Sollux greets.

"You're more of a nerd than he is and you fucking know it," Karkat points out, grabbing Sollux's phone off the desk. Sollux hisses, _actually_ hisses, and wrestles it back out of Karkat's fingers. I watch with eyebrows raised.

"Yeah? Who spends all day teaching children to punch things? At least I have a life," Sollux counters.

"Sollux, hacking yourself more followers doesn't count as you having a life," I state flatly. "Also, you code literally all day and night. That's the mega evolution of all nerdiness."

"Stop using nerdy metaphors when you're trying to call other people nerds," Karkat says disdainfully. I smirk at him.

"Kk here is the real nerd," Sollux says, bringing his arm up high before dropping it onto Karkat's arm, who shoves him away. "The only things he watches are dumb sappy romcoms."

I blink, my eyebrows rising high. "Serious?"

"Hey, fuckshit, they highlight serious sociological perspectives both common and individual-specific and delve deeply into the special nuances of a proper and improper relationship. And if you haven't noticed, my studies have led me to have more of a love life than you could ever hope to have, so if I were you, I'd lock my shithole with a key made of high quality stainless shut-the-fuck-up and shove it up my ass," Karkat snarls.

"Cue the rage fit," Sollux mutters.

I can't help myself. I cover my mouth and look down to hide my snickers, but they slip out. I swear, not only does Karkat force the emotions out onto my face, but just. This. This is too much. Karkat glares at me as I struggle to hold down my laughter, slowly flushing before shoving his chair backward and standing.

"You know, I'm going to talk to someone who isn't an apathetic patronizing douchecanoe," he growls. "Later, dickbags." He goes over to sit near Aradia, who easily strikes up conversation with him. My laughter quickly dissipates after his departure.

"And he's gone," Sollux sighs, leaning forward over the desk and resting his head on his arms. He stares at Aradia, fingers gripping his arms tightly, face turning pink as she laughs at something Karkat says.

"Why do you even avoid her so much?" I say tiredly. "This is real simple. You go talk to her, you become friends, and then you ask her out."

Sollux raises one eyebrow. He has interesting irises, one a vibrant, sizzling red and one an electric, midnight blue. His tinted glasses are low enough on his nose that I can see them. Sollux, Aradia, Karkat, and me. Red eyes. Sollux is the only one who's seen me without my shades, but for some reason it's comforting to know that it's not so weird to have red eyes.

"Look who's giving me romance advice," Sollux mutters. "At least you're more straightforward than Kk. 'Sollux, buy her some fucking flowers.' 'Sollux, take her to a fucking amusement park and then kiss her on the fucking Ferris wheel.' 'Sollux, move the fucking sea and the fucking sky and bring her the fucking sun and fucking moon trapped in a silver fucking locket to show her she's heaven on fucking earth.' I'm not even lying, he said that once."

I smile a little. "He does swear a lot."

Sollux rolls his eyes. "You swear a lot. What, that's why you're attracted to him?"

I set my jaw forward. "I'm not discussing my Karkat daydreams with you, dicklord."

Sollux nods sagely. "I am the dick lord. Wanna see?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

"You probably have nothing on me. My dick is the anaconda to your maggot."

"Well, in that case, I do got buns, hon," Sollux promises. He isn't even flirty in real life, and neither am I, but for some reason we do this whenever we're alone and the opportunity arises. And then...

"What the fuck is wrong with you two??" Karkat's voice comes from above, aghast. My head snaps up to see his disgusted grimace, Aradia standing next to him with a slant-mouthed face, amused and disturbed at the same time.

Sollux jumps and fumbles and makes finger guns, dropping his phone. "I have a dick," he says, as if it's some clever top-quality pickup line, his eyes dancing frantically from his phone to Aradia's face.

Karkat's expression twists even more. I just stare at him, completely at a loss for words.


	5. Chapter 5

Dave has never ridden a school bus, I find out later. He frowns at the entire scene as I drag him toward the back. "Why are there so many people crammed into one bus? Can't they just hire another one?" he mutters.

"I don't fucking know," I say, exasperated. Dave makes my _head_ spin. It's too much to even be aggravating anymore, and I've only been talking to him for, like, two days. I drop into a seat close to the end of the bus, and he sits down next to me. I rub my bruised stomach a little. Prime condition for an entire afternoon of training with Dave.

Some grinning ninth grader comes up to us. "Mind if I sit here?" she asks, laughter in her voice lingering from a conversation with her friends.

I start to say, "go ahead," when Dave cuts in.

"Yes," he says, as if it was a stupid question.

I roll my eyes. "Okay, school bus etiquette," I growl, wrapping my fingers around his arm and pulling him closer. He's too heavy for me to move, but he obliges, shifting closer so our hips touch. I suddenly wish I hadn't done that, as the girl flicks her hair behind her and sits down, back facing us as she engages in conversation with her friends again.

Dave looks down at me, our faces suddenly in close proximity as our bodies press against each other. I fight down the blush that's been threatening all day long, ever since whatever the _fuck_ had happened in chemistry.

What was that?! If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Dave was about to _kiss_ me. Except Dave is still kind of unfamiliar and there's no way he'd ever want to kiss me. I glance down at his number on my arm again.

When Sollux shows up, I grin. Aradia is sitting in the seat in front of me, next to one of the freshmen. He makes his way over to us before leaning against the seat and giving me a look.

"Kk, what the fuck?" he mutters, his eyes flickering to Aradia and back.

"Hey Sollux, sit here," I say loudly, gesturing to Aradia's seat. She looks up and sees him before smiling and waving. He puts one hand behind his head and waves back, grinning stupidly. The freshman girl looks up at him.

"Are you sitting here?" she asks. "Can you sit in the middle?"

Sollux doesn't even acknowledge her, still waving, his face turning redder and redder. I roll my eyes again before standing and bending over the seat to grab his arm and pull him to the seat as the girl stands.

He turns red as a fucking tomato, and I grin. It'll be good for him.

Dave snorts next to me. "Playing matchmaker?" he laughs.

I scowl at him. "What, are you going to decide you're too fucking cool to associate with someone who watches romance movies?"

Dave seems surprised. "What? No. Nah man, that's chill. It's actually kind of adorable, actually."

I flush at his comment. "What?"

He smiles. "Nothing."

A few minutes into the ride, he nudges me. "Want to move things along between them?" he mumbles, nodding his head at Aradia and Sollux. Aradia's trying to make conversation, but Sollux is flustered as fuck and I don't think anything much coherent is coming out of his mouth.

I narrow my eyes. "How?"

He smirks, before rising to hover over the seat. He holds up three fingers, then two, then one - then he reaches over the seat and pushes Aradia's and Sollux's faces together. My mouth falls open as I laugh, because Dave drops back into his seat but Sollux refuses to move. He sure as hell isn't _kissing_ her anymore, but his hands are holding her face close, eyes wide and fearful as his cheeks burn so red I figure they must hurt.

Aradia's eyes flick to Dave, who shoots her a thumbs up, before returning to meet Sollux's. "We'll let them figure it out," Dave says, slumping down in his seat. "Trust me, Sollux deserved that." I slap my palm against my face and burst into laughter, and it spreads to Dave.

For _some reason_ , my heart flutters every time he smiles. I've seen him smile more in the last two days than I have even in my own thoughts, and I think of him a lot. It's annoying, because I'm suspecting that I'm developing a crush out of pure physical attraction, which is just a road straight to heartbreak - but I can't help it. He has dimples when he smiles.

-

Dave stands across from me in the center of the basement. Neither of us have any gear, which makes me uncomfortable, but Dave promises I won't need it. He pulls back his leg and puts up his fists in guarding stance. I copy his movements.

"Look, there's no set position for your arms," he says, nodding to mine. "You need to move them and keep them fluid, and adjust them to the other person's attacks. Okay?"

"Yeah, alright," I say.

"Like now." He brings up his knee, and I instinctively flinch. He doesn't even kick, putting it back down and dropping his arms. "I'm not going to hit you, dude."

I roll my eyes. "In real sparring, I'm going to be hit, you know. You don't need to refrain now. Besides, you hit really hard, so excuse me if I've got better things to do with my body than let it get beat to a pulp by you."

He opens his mouth, smirking, and if today has been any indication, he's about to say something disgusting, so I drop my guard and glare at him. He closes his mouth and dips his head, stifling a smile. "Okay, well, right now I'm not going to, okay? I have to in class because if I don't, Dirk will yell at me."

I furrow my brows at that. "He's always yelling at you," I point out, not quite sure what it is I'm trying to ask.

He shrugs. "Divorced white male who has to look after a bunch of screaming toddlers and try to teach them discipline. He's alright."

That surprises me. "He's divorced? Who's the lady I see with Rose sometimes then?"

He shakes his head. "Nah, she's my mom. Rose lives with her, and I live with Dirk, but I can't fucking wait to move in with the two of them."

"Why?"

Dave looks like he's about to continue seamlessly, but then he suddenly makes eye contact with me and closes his mouth.

"Okay, that's fine," I say quickly.

He stiffens. "Let me see your stance." I let him drop the subject and put my arms up again, bending my knees.

He comes closer and stands next to me, placing one hand gently over my own and pushing my fists lower to guard my torso more than my neck and shoulders. "You're really tense," he mutters, walking around to stand behind me. "You have to keep yourself loose and relaxed." I try to do as he says, letting my shoulders droop, and the sound of his soft laughter tickles my ears from behind.

"What?" I demand, jumping as I feel his hands on my shoulders.

"Nothing, bro. You're just - really tense. Don't you ever relax?" He pulls my shoulders back more, and okay, it is really _really_ hard to _fucking relax_ when he's running his hands over me from behind. This was not a good idea at all; I'm never going to get better at anything if this is how Dave plans on helping me. He's so fucking _gentle_ , it makes my breathing shallow.

His thumbs press on the muscles connecting my shoulders to my neck, and I arch my back, because they are _sore_. "Hnnnnnnn," I whisper against my will.

"Wow," Dave mutters, stepping back as I drop my stance and turn to face him. "You need a fucking massage, dude. Your muscles are tighter than-"

I cover his mouth. "You will _not_ finish that sentence," I say.

He laughs had pulls his head back. "Okay. Let's try some light sparring. No contact. Try to keep loose, yeah?"

He steps back and bows before putting up his arms. I do the same.

Barely twenty seconds in, Dave's leg flies through my block and connects with the tender spot in the side of my stomach. A sound escapes me as I stumble and fall, clutching my stomach. "Shit," Dave mutters, bending down over me and placing his hands on my shoulders. My vision swims as I breathe in short gasps. "Dude, can you hear me? Dude. Dude. Karkat."

I glance up at him, my stomach still clenching around the injury. "Yeah, I can fucking hear you, okay? Stop freaking out," I manage to force out from between my tightly clenched teeth.

Dave's gaze lingers on my hands clutching my stomach. "I knew it," he mutters. "Was that my fault? The bruise? From Monday, when I kicked you?" My stomach is _still_ protesting all movement.

"Yeah," I grunt. "Don't feel too bad though. I'll be fine in a minute."

Dave's expression is 100% concern and 200% guilt, despite my words. "Can you stand?" When I refuse to admit that I probably can't, not yet, he. He fucking. He fucking picks me up.

I blush furiously and curl into myself as he pulls me off the ground, my heart ricocheting around my rib cage. His warmth is suddenly close to me, and I find that I don't mind at _all._ He sets me back down slowly on the sofa. I take a moment to catch my breath, and not just because of the sharp pain in my abdomen.

"Let's not spar," he mutters, sitting and leaning against the opposite arm rest. I nod, the pain finally starting to fade.

"Want to watch something?" I mumble, rubbing my stomach, fully aware that my cheeks are burning.

"Oh, yeah, Netflix and chill," Dave says, nodding along. I flip him off.

"Shut up. Since you laughed earlier, we're watching a romcom," I say decisively. He tips his head back and groans.

"Why?? I can't believe this is the first day we're hanging out and you're already intent on dragging me through hell," he complains. I shake my head at his theatrics, despite happily taking note of the fact that he seems to think we're going to hang out more after today.

I get up again after a few minutes, rifling through dvd's. Dave comes to stand over me. My cheeks are still hotter than the core of the fucking sun, and I really hope he isn't noticing, except he probably has already.

"You watch Indian shit?" he says, surprised. "Do you understand it?"

"I live with Kanaya and her older sister," I mutter. "I grew up trilingual."

"Damn. What's the third language then?" he says, and he actually sounds impressed, which brings me some kind of odd satisfaction.

"Español," I say. "It's great. I get to watch movies from three different cultures, and ninety percent of Indian films center on romance."

"Oh my god, Sollux is right, you fucking nerd."

"Yeah, whatever," I say, standing and suddenly bumping into him behind me. I spin to face him. "Mind giving a guy some space??" I shriek, my heartbeat loud in my ears and my face heating up again. This is the worst kind of hell.

"Sorry," he grins, backing into the sofa. I grab the remote and sit down, trying not to stay too conscious about his presence two feet away from me.

-

Halfway through the movie, Dave's arm falls from the top of the couch to around my shoulders. I jump and turn to tell him to fuck off, except when I meet his eyes his shades have slipped low and his lids are closed. His head droops to my shoulder, his other arm coming up to wrap around my front. I watch him, the movie forgotten, as his breaths fog up the edges of his sunglasses. His eyelashes are blond and they shimmer as they reflect the light, his face not quite smooth but still rather nice looking. His lips look so soft.

I sigh and close my eyes, leaning my head back. It's time to accept it. After a year of watching him every day in taekwondo, I've fallen for Dave Strider.

I dream that I kiss him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like, I saw some artwork once of humanstuck Kanaya as of Indian descent, and like, I loved it???? She was all decorated up in jewelry and colorful clothing and I just holy shit i dunno


	6. Chapter 6

I watch Dave all Saturday. He's signed up for _every_ tournament event. He's ridiculously good. He's there in his white uniform, black belt in stark contrast against the clean fabric, and he looks fucking _attractive._ I can't focus. All I want to do is stare at him and his long limbs and lean, flexible body.

That's probably a good thing, or I might never have figured things out between Dave and his father.

I watch empathetically as Dave stands in front of Dirk in the corner, mouth silent and betraying no emotion. I can usually tell Dave's mood, at least in the last few days I've been interacting with him, but I can't read him at all right now. Dirk seems mad, his mouth moving but only indistinct words drifting over to my ears. I adjust and readjust my arm guards, watching the exchange.

It's not even an exchange. Dave just stands there the entire time, still and quiet, listening to Dirk's words. I've never seen him go that long without saying anything.

And then Dirk raises his hand, I think as just a part of his rant, but Dave flinches. My own words suddenly echo back to my own ears. _Besides, you hit really hard, so excuse me if I've got better things to do with my body than let it get beat to a pulp by you._ Dave's voice as he'd promised he wasn't going to hit me pops into my head. I'm not sure how exactly I'd describe it, but it was something related to sadness and pity.

I stare at Dirk and Dave for a moment longer before finally daring to connect the dots. Dave's gentleness, his attention to my injuries. His longing to move in with Rose.

Dave's father is abusive.

-

Dave sprains his wrist while sparring. I can't get his twisted expression out of my mind as I go up to face my opponent.

 _Stay loose._ I force myself to relax, imagining Dave's low voice in my ear. It was one punch, one hard look from Dirk to Dave that I didn't miss, and suddenly Dave was backing away, clutching his arm to his chest, refusing to look at Dirk.

But I did. And the only expression there was one of disappointment.

It stung. It really stung. I bow to my partner, trying to diffuse the phantom pains in my left wrist, waiting for the call to assume guarding stance.

_Keep loose. Relax._

The sparring flashes by. All I'm thinking about is Dave, and I'm surprised when I find out I've scored points.

I hope he's okay.

-

hey man good job  
third place bro  
thats pretty great  
YEAH. THANKS TO YOU.  
haha not yet dude were still gonna work to make you pass the brown belt test  
youre not rid of me just cuz you placed  
heres your get out of daves broship free medal  
whoops our bad that doesnt exist  
guess youre stuck with him  
were so sorry you have to suffer something so awesome  
OKAY, OKAY, DUDE I GET IT. JEGUS FUCKING CHRIST.  
jegus  
STFU  
WE ARE FRIENDS THEN?  
i mean yeah  
as long as thats what you want  
if you catch my drift  
OKAY, I WALKED INTO THAT ONE. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE FRIENDS, WHY DID I EVEN ASK THAT.  
LETS GET ICE CREAM TOMORROW YEAH?  
ha youre picking up my speech patterns bro  
yeah?  
anyway if im not wrong it sounds like youre asking me out karkat  
DAVE.  
haha yeah ok sure why not  
ALRIGHT, COOL.  



	7. Chapter 7

Karkat and I are at a Ghirardelli shop. I spot Sollux in line and wave to him as he's about to pay, and he pretends to shoot me with a finger gun. "Dude," Karkat says, watching as Sollux takes two ice cream sundaes over to a table where Aradia's sitting, grinning. "There is no way that happened because of fucking yesterday."

I laugh through my nose. "Fuckin incredible."

Karkat shakes his head in disbelief, surprised laughter bubbling from his mouth. I watch his smile, feeling warmer inside after how much Dirk and I sparred after the tournament. I'd had to walk to Rose's house after midnight for Roxy to take me to the doctor and make sure nothing was broken in my wrist. At least it would probably help her in the custody battle.

I order my sundae and sit down across from Karkat. "Got yourself a date, Strider?" Sollux calls.

Instead of answering yes or no, I nod to Aradia, who waves at me. "I see you have."

"That, he does," Aradia says, grinning. Sollux flushes a little, but smirks, before turning back around. It's a thank you in his language. I snort.

There's a twin KitKat bar in my ice cream, so I snap it into individual bars and hold one up. "It's you," I comment. Karkat scoffs. I consider the chocolate and then look at Karkat's face. He seems to have a suspicion about what I'm about to do, so before he can warn me not to, I stuck out my tongue and run it up the length of the bar.

Karkat flushes and makes a disgusted face, kicking me under the table as I snicker. "What the fuck is wrong with you??" he snaps, turning his head away in embarrassment. I laugh.

Karkat's silent for a few minutes as I finish eating the chocolate. I'm not sure why they'd put kitkats in the ice cream at a Ghirardelli shop, but whatever, it's probably some weird company sponsor thing. Then he says, "tell me about your dad."

I instinctively stiffen. "My daddy? I could call you that if you want."

Karkat doesn't react, sadly. He blushes easily and I enjoy being the cause of it. "I'm serious, Dave."

I shrug. "What's to tell?"

Karkat frowns. "Okay. I'm sorry if I'm pushing you, but this is fucking important to me and I need to know. So I'll help you." He pushes his spoon into his ice cream and slides it to the side before leaning forward across the table. His voice is low, and it's maddening how fucking sexy it sounds when he isn't screaming.

He holds up his fingers, counting off a list. "He yells at you all day. He's never satisfied. He doesn't seem to care much for your physical injuries." I wince at each word that comes out of his mouth now. "You flinch when he raises his arm. You stiffen and stop emoting completely when you and him are even remotely alone. You talk about how eager you are to move out. Dave? I don't want to jump to conclusions, but there's a pretty worrying fucking pattern here."

I stir my spoon around in the thick vanilla ice cream. "Okay." I glance at Karkat's eyes. They're so worried, so concerned, I can't stand it.

He sighs before jumping the gap. "Dave, does your dad abuse you?"

I sigh. He's already figured it out. There's no use hiding it. He has the decency to keep his voice low, at least, so I decide I'm going to have to meet him half way.

"I don't know if I'd call it that," I mumble. "We spar at home a lot. He forces me to train harder and harder for taekwondo. He wants perfection. Roxy left him because of his ideals - he wasn't able to let go of his dumb complex for her. At first, he just adamantly demanded to keep me, so Roxy room Rose and left, but she wanted to take me too and I wanted to leave, especially after she was out of the house and Dirk could do whatever he wanted to me free of restraint. So they reopened the custody case and that's going on right now."

Karkat's watching me with an expression of horror mixed with pity and sadness.

"He never lets me take breaks," I continue. "He doesn't drive me to the doctors office or to the dentist. He still teaches kids for some reason, but he did a shitty job of taking care of us when Rose and I were younger. But he's just a perfectionist. It's not like he actually wants to harm me or anything."

"Dave." Karkat covers his mouth with his hand, his eyes sparkling with moisture. "Dave, he doesn't have to _want_ to abuse you. That's fucking abuse."

I shrug. "Yeah, well, it won't last long. It's all okay. Shit, don't _cry,_ god I should have never told you." He grimaced as a tear slowly travels over his long eyelashes, and I reach forward to take his hands in mine. "Dude. I'm fine." He stands, pulling me up and hugging me tightly.

Karkat gives good hugs. They're even better than Roxy's hugs, and despite having a few inches on him I melt into it. My body aches with bruises, but Karkat's warmth chases it away. He pulls back and grabs his ice cream, pulling me toward the door.

We walk down the sidewalk in silence, waiting for the bus. "Are we going home?" I ask.

"Yeah," Karkat says, his voice weighed down by miserable undertones. "Come to my house. Just stay there or something, you can even spend the night, I don't care."

I laugh. "I don't need like a refuge, you know," I say, although the idea makes me buzz with anticipation. "Would be cool though. If you're actually okay with that."

"Yeah, sure," he says. "The basement connects to my room and Kanaya's room, and we can just stay there."

I shrug. "Sure." I've already fallen asleep hugging him. It can't get much more embarrassing.

-

I visit Karkat again on Tuesday and Thursday to help him work on his forms. By the end of Thursday I'm certain he'll pass. I'm about to leave, when I open the door to find my sister pinning Kanaya against the exterior wall of the house by her wrists, kissing the fuck out of her. She backs away as I freeze, Kanaya leaning against the wall and breathless as she turns to me and Karkat with wide eyes.

"This is who you've quote unquote had your eye on for a while now??" I demand. Karkat buries his face into his hands.

"Your sister is dating my almost-sister," he says. "Your best friend is dating my cousin."

I nod along. "And I fucked your mom last night." Karkat shoves me as I snicker. "Wait. Aradia's your cousin?"

"You didn't know?" Rose says. I roll my eyes. Why is she so condescending?

Kanaya swallows. "Did you want to head out the door?" she asks awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'll be leaving," I mumble, heading out. Karkat waves at me, and I smile as I wave back before turning around.

-

I barely pay attention on Saturday. My eyes are only on Karkat, who sits uneasily among the other red belts. Vriska and Terezi keep shooting each other looks, which is really annoying, especially that I seem to be more upset about the way Terezi fawns over Karkat than Vriska is. Terezi's naturally flirty, I've noticed that, but I still don't like watching her go at it with Karkat.

He passes the test without a problem. I grin at him at the end when Dirk hands him his brown belt, and he beams back at me.

Something in me twinges sadly. Will we still hang out? Or is this it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having so much fun I only slept like four hours woooo I hope I'm not too late with this and that you can actually read it before you leave Liz


	8. Chapter 8

WANT TO GET ICE CREAM AGAIN? YOU CAN STAY OVER AGAIN TOO.  
ACTUALLY I THINK KANAYA MIGHT BE HAVING ROSE OVER TOO SO IT COULD BE FUN WITH ALL OF US TOGETHER AND I WONT HAVE TO FUCKING THIRD WHEEL.  
nah actually  
sorry  
but i have to help dirk with some stuff  
next weekend though  
...OKAY.  
ALRIGHT, FINE, BUT IM HOLDING YOU TO THAT.  
cool  
sorry again  
NOT A HUGE DEAL.  


-

The entire week passes agonizingly slowly. Dirk continually spars with me at home, although Rose informs me that Roxy thinks she's close to winning. Karkat plays the saxophone and I play the trumpet, and I keep watching him during band and accidentally losing my place. The trumpets are more prominent compared to some other instruments, so the teacher always notices and calls me out.

Drama rehearsals are held together all week, because both classes are doing one play together for the end of the school year. So Karkat's there too, and damn, he looks so. Fucking. Good. The stage makeup and the string of fairy lights that provide the only light accentuate every angle in his frame and face, and he looks like he's ready for a photo shoot all class. My gay ass can't handle it.

When Saturday finally comes, I grin as Karkat strolls up to me where I sit at a table outside the Ghirardelli store.

"How long have you been here?" he asks. "Sorry I'm late."

"Isn't it your birthday today?" I ask, not answering his question because I've been there since morning like a loser. He nods. I grin and bump his arm. "I'll buy you whatever."

He rolls his eyes. "You don't fucking need to."

"But I will," I say, stopping him from getting out the rest of whatever he was going to say. "We are entrenched in this bitch. There's no way out Karkat, I am going to fucking treat you today."

He blushes darkly, and I realize there is more than one way to take that sentence, so I smirk at him. He doesn't even push me this time, just glares at the menu boards, and my heart swells.

_Progress._

We play video games once we get to his house. One combat round lasts longer than usual, and it's close, but in the end he beats me.

"Damn it!!" I yell. "How the fuck??"

Karkat grins and sets down the controller, reaching into the bowl of popcorn. His fingers are slender and medium length. "Guess I'm just better," he says smugly.

"Go fuck yourself," I say, shoving him. He doesn't expect it and topples over, and that's when his shirt goes up and I see the fading bruise on his stomach. _I did that._ Three weeks. Three weeks, and it's still there. Stomach tissue is soft and takes long to heal, but I'm suddenly overrun by guilt.

Karkat props himself back up, laughing, but then stops when he sees my face. "What?" he asks.

I lean closer to him and shift my hands under his shirt, trying not to blush but I _have_ to see it better.

"What the fuck are you--?" Karkat splutters, but I touch the darkened skin around his bruise and he quiets, his face red.

"It's been three weeks, dude," I say. "I... You didn't even say anything??"

Karkat frowns, pulling his shirt down again. "Neither have you. You think I didn't notice? You tell me to stay loose but anytime someone makes contact with you in class you stiffen up. But I know it's not your nerves, because you're too good for that. Instead it's..." He pushes two fingers to my shoulder, against one of the many bruises I carry. They're all superficial and they heal fast, but I get new ones every day.

I push away his hand. "Yeah, well, that's normal for me. We talked about this like two weeks ago. But this is _my_ fault. I..."

Karkat sighs, and then for some reason he gives me the warmest smile I've ever seen. "Hey Dave?"

"What?" I say, confused. There's no one else here and we were already talking. He doesn't need to address me by name.

"Do you like me?"

The question doesn't compute. "I... No?"

He doesn't even lose any steam. He pushes forward, propping one elbow on the seat of the sofa behind us as he leans in closer. "If there's anything I know about your personality, it's that you're passive as fuck about these things. You never tell me anything unless I fucking figure it out myself first, maybe because you're scared or maybe because you're just really satisfied with whatever there is and you don't dare to wish for more, I don't fucking know."

"Are you getting at a point here?" I say, except the words that usually run smoothly from of my mouth tumble out of my mind completely as he leans closer, still kind of smiling.

"My point is," Karkat laughs, "I love you." Then he pushes forward even more and touches his lips to mine.

I can't breathe. I'm only half way through processing what's going on when suddenly every thought slams out of my brain as we touch, and I suddenly understand how Sollux felt. You know what, I take it back, he probably didn't deserve that, because kissing the one you love is the best fucking feeling in the entire world.

I tentatively start to kiss back, and Karkat brings one hand up to the back of my neck. Karkat is a _spectacular_ kisser. I lean more into him, as he kisses me again and again, light and feathery.

The clock in the hallway upstairs strikes six, and suddenly the door to the basement flies open as the room fills with noise. "SURPRI......." The cries die short as me and Karkat turn around, my face burning hot and Karkat's flushed and grinning.

I look back at him, and all he does is laugh. It's the sweetest sound in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun facts that I couldn't put in to the fic: Dave and Aradia share a schedule, Sollux and Karkat share a schedule. Sollux plays a synthesizer in band. Roxy wins the custody battle and Dave gets to go live with the Lalondes. And these are Dave's and Karkat's schedules:
> 
> Dave
> 
> English  
> Math  
> Band  
> Drama  
> AT
> 
> Chemistry  
> PE  
> French  
> History  
> At
> 
> Karkat
> 
> english  
> History  
> Band  
> Math  
> Tech
> 
> Chemistry  
> French  
> PE  
> Drama  
> AT

**Author's Note:**

> Achievement Unlocked - Viri Refrained From Writing Angst!!
> 
> Love you Liz hope you liked it


End file.
